![]() Though lovely to look at, with a charming smile, she’s little more than window dressing even more disappointing, she’s not a good dancer. At least there’s the dramatic watery finale, recalling Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea, which is genuinely impressive on all levels.Ī further problem is former beauty queen Hegde, making an inauspicious Bollywood debut after a few Tamil and Telegu features. It’s good as spectacle, though it lacks the beauty of “Jodhaa Akbar,” and many viewers will feel short-changed on the musical numbers: For example, “Tu Hai” would be OK as a low-key set piece if only it were balanced by a more energetic production number toward the end. With so much going for it, the surprise is that “Mohenjo Daro” doesn’t live up to its potential. It all comes to an impressive climax around the Indus River, when Sarman’s leadership wins the day. Their conflicts inevitably lead to several fights, but fortunately Sarman’s muscled body has a miraculous ability to heal itself (not mentioned in the plot, but how else to credit his disappearing knife wounds?). Naturally Maham and Moonja won’t let Chaani escape from her promise, nor will they let upstart village boy Sarman tamper with their self-serving plans. Chaani has been promised to Maham’s cruel son Moonja (Arunoday Singh), but the more she gazes at Sarman, the more she can’t get the man with lower décolletage than her own out of her system. The current order only works well for Senate chief Maham (Kabir Bedi) and his greedy yes-men, all turning a blind eye to their leader’s smuggling operations with the Sumerians. Sarman is struck by the beauty of Chaani (Pooja Hegde), daughter of the high priest (Manish Chaudhary) and prophesied as the Chosen One, who will usher in a new order. ![]() The city is imposing in a Babylonian/Nebuchadnezzar way - the set covered 25 acres, divided between the Lower City, for plebeians, and the Upper City, for the higher classes. They know however that the unicorn featuring in Sarman’s dreams is a sign (a graphically poor one at that), and they let him go with comic relief friend Hojo (Umang Vyas). The year is 2016 B.C., and sheltered, orphaned indigo farmer Sarman (Roshan) is dying to go to the metropolis of Mohenjo Daro to sell his wares at the bazaar, but Uncle Durjan (Nitish Bharadwaj) and Aunt Bima (Kishori Shahane) try to stifle the call of the big city. In the first production number, “Mohenjo Mohenjo,” when extras, according to subtitles, sing in ancient Dilmun and Bukharan and Sumerian, surely we’re all meant to smile, knowing these extinct languages are impossible to recreate.Ī more valid criticism can be directed at the mediocre CGI used for the opening crocodile attack, which elicits more giggles than gasps. Gowariker, still best known internationally for his Oscar-nominated “Lagaan,” is a clever man, and he certainly meant for audiences to chuckle at the opening, when characters are purportedly speaking ancient Sindhi before magically morphing into modern Hindi.
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